Breastfeeding
egilona
member
Slow weight gain - how to respond to doctor?
egilona
member
My daughter is EBF and will be 4 months old tomorrow. Her doctor has been commenting on her slow weight gain every time I bring her in, and I feel like I've had to be on the defensive about how much she's eating (I also feel like he doesn't quite believe me when I say she's getting plenty). With her 4 month visit coming up, I'm looking for feedback on how to respond when the issue inevitably comes up again. Here is a quick rundown of the situation:
DD was born at 40 weeks weighing 7 lbs 12 oz (measuring around 20 inches long) and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz at 3 days old. By 3 weeks old, she was 8 lbs 3 oz. I don't remember her exact weight at 2 months (8.5 weeks), but it was 9 lbs and some odd oz. Today, at 17 weeks, I'd estimate that she weighs around 11.5-11.75 lbs (11.7 lbs is what my scale tells me, but it's not necessarily what the doctor's scale will say). Based on the Infant Growth Calculator from Kelly Mom, that's a steady gain of 4 oz per week. This is also, I know, under the average/expected gain of 5-7 oz, and also nowhere close to doubling her birth weight.
I'm back at work, so DD gets bottles between the hours of around 7am-4pm. I'd estimate that she averages eating around 18 oz during this time frame. I think the least she's ever eaten during that time frame is 14 oz, and the most is 23 oz. She produces plenty of wet diapers (I can count the number of times I've checked her diaper and NOT seen a blue line on two hands, probably), and she poops 1-2 times per day. I think it would be hard to argue that she's not getting enough to eat, but if anything about this suggests she's not, please let me know!
I don't want to supplement with formula and I don't want to start giving her solid food. Am I right to push back if the doctor suggests this? Should I be concerned about her slow weight gain, given the information above? I'll also add that I'm on the small side of average (I'm just under 5' tall), while DH is around average height (he's 5'9'' or 5'10'') and neither of us is overweight, so it seems likely to me that she's genetically predisposed to be smaller, and I'm wondering if that could also help account for her slow weight gain.
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
DD was born at 40 weeks weighing 7 lbs 12 oz (measuring around 20 inches long) and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz at 3 days old. By 3 weeks old, she was 8 lbs 3 oz. I don't remember her exact weight at 2 months (8.5 weeks), but it was 9 lbs and some odd oz. Today, at 17 weeks, I'd estimate that she weighs around 11.5-11.75 lbs (11.7 lbs is what my scale tells me, but it's not necessarily what the doctor's scale will say). Based on the Infant Growth Calculator from Kelly Mom, that's a steady gain of 4 oz per week. This is also, I know, under the average/expected gain of 5-7 oz, and also nowhere close to doubling her birth weight.
I'm back at work, so DD gets bottles between the hours of around 7am-4pm. I'd estimate that she averages eating around 18 oz during this time frame. I think the least she's ever eaten during that time frame is 14 oz, and the most is 23 oz. She produces plenty of wet diapers (I can count the number of times I've checked her diaper and NOT seen a blue line on two hands, probably), and she poops 1-2 times per day. I think it would be hard to argue that she's not getting enough to eat, but if anything about this suggests she's not, please let me know!
I don't want to supplement with formula and I don't want to start giving her solid food. Am I right to push back if the doctor suggests this? Should I be concerned about her slow weight gain, given the information above? I'll also add that I'm on the small side of average (I'm just under 5' tall), while DH is around average height (he's 5'9'' or 5'10'') and neither of us is overweight, so it seems likely to me that she's genetically predisposed to be smaller, and I'm wondering if that could also help account for her slow weight gain.
Any advice or feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
Me 32 | DH 32
married 9/15
DD: 1/17/17
#2 due 7/26/20!
married 9/15
DD: 1/17/17
#2 due 7/26/20!
Re: Slow weight gain - how to respond to doctor?
Remember, an average gain of 5-7 ounces a week means that some babies will gain more than that and some will gain less. Her wet and dirty diapers sound good. How has she done in reaching milestones or going through wonder weeks? If everything else seems to be going well, I would consider asking the doctor to explain why he is so concerned. I, too, would be bothered if the doctor wanted to push solids already or formula if you've made it clear you intend to ebf. You might want to look into finding a new pediatrician who can communicate his concerns and respond to yours better if this 4 month visit doesn't go well. Good luck!
My first child was very slow to gain (still is, he's approaching 23 months and still wearing a good amount of 12 month attire, he's tall and very slim). But he is healthy, eats well, etc. When he was a newborn, though, I had to feed him every two hours round the clock because he couldn't gain his birth weight back, wake him to feed, keep him awake during feedings by stripping him down, using cool washcloths, tickle his foot pads, etc. I did have one nurse practitioner who really pushed supplementing, which I eventually did do after I was satisfied that he had a good nursing routine established. We didn't supplement much (mostly just had the option ready if, when I was at my night class an my husband was doing a nighttime bottle feeding while I was gone, and he'd gone through the pumped milk for that day), and it didn't seem to affect his preference for nursing at all, he ended up weaning himself at 15 months, when I was three months pregnant with his sister. I was thrilled, I'd been shooting for a year.
This time around, my daughter is a fast gainer, so I'm seeing both sides of the spectrum. But it could just be a thing with your doctor...it might be that another doctor might be more affirming and supportive.